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Time Out
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Adeel Akhtar (Angad)
This nihilistic comedy about a British Asian politician who seizes his chance to become leader of the opposition is funny and frustrating in equal measures. In the opening scenes, first time playwright Shaan Sahota (she also works as a doctor!) does a decent job of spinning an In The Thick of It -style yarn about Angad (Adeel Akhtar), a very junior British Sikh shadow minister who suddenly finds himself in play for the leadership of what is implicitly the Tory Party. The opening scenes thrum with an energy not dissimilar to a previous National Theatre triumph, James Graham's This House, as it plunges us into an amusingly compromised world of sweary spads, cocky whips and malleable MPs. Helena Wilson is scene stealingly entertaining as the apparently humble Angad's shark-like head of comms Petra. It's fun. But then Sahota introduces what is essentially an entire second main storyline, this time revolving around Angad's late father's will and his family's lasting trauma at their patriarch's unfeeling treatment of them. We see Angad playing the role of the understanding if somewhat distant brother to his GP eldest sister Gyan (Thusitha Jayasundera) and hilariously highly strung middle sister Malika (Shelley Conn, superb). And then we see him calmly accept the will's shock contents, much to the horror and fury of his siblings. These two threads – cynical political comedy and more sensitive look at the traumatising legacy of a patriarchal upbringing – are by no means impossible to square. Akhtar's Angad displays broadly the same characteristics in each: a genuinely nice, humble guy whose head is instantly turned the second opportunity presents itself. But it's not enough to make The Estate align with itself. In Daniel Raggett's production the comedy bits are so broad as to undercut the more sensitive bits. It feels like two different shows crashing into one another, bound only by a corrosive cynicism about politicians. But on that last note it feels weirdly detached from the real world: there's no mention of Rishi Sunak, Reform or who the actual ruling party of the day is. I'm not even sure any real life politicians or political events are namechecked at all. I realise the intention is to avoid getting bogged down in political detail, but there is something peculiar about its blend of detachment from and immense cynicism toward contemporary British politics. In the Thick of It was very recognisably a version of the late New Labour era, but the 2025 Tory Party is an astoundingly hot mess and The Estate suffers from only wanting to engage with it in very general terms. Don't get me wrong: there are two pretty good plays here. The 'comedy' plot may lack in specifics but it has some very smart stuff about the way Parliament is composed of people from such an unhealthily compressed social sphere that they have all known each other since they were kids, and were literally groomed for power. The 'serious' plot paints the entire family as so traumatised by their overbearing late dad that they're each damaged to the point of dysfunction. It reckons more sensitively with the family's status as second generation immigrants and the lasting shadow of 'traditional' values. Either would have made a really satisfying full length play, or even a double bill of shorter plays. But the two just don't mesh properly: The Estate seesaws between amusingly cynical and just plain bleak; Aktar's Angad – even by this country's Trussian standards – just too much of a public liability to possibly be made LOTO, at least by the end. You're allowed a bit of latitude in a comedy of course but Raggett's production is only half that. It's decent, but too disjointed to serve as a classic debut.
Telegraph
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Most Tories aren't welcome in Reform, says Lee Anderson
Most Conservative MPs will not be welcome in Reform UK, Lee Anderson has insisted. The Reform chief whip and MP for Ashfield said most of the Tory parliamentary party would only want to cross the floor to 'save their jobs'. It comes after Sir Jake Berry and David Jones this week became the first two former Cabinet ministers to defect to Reform from the Tories. Mr Anderson entered the Commons as a Tory MP in 2019 but was suspended in February 2024 amid a row over comments he made about Sir Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London. He went on to join Reform the following month, becoming their first representative in the House of Commons. Nigel Farage's party has since surged in the polls, and currently leads the Tories by an average of almost 10 points, while also enjoying a narrow lead over Labour. In an interview with The Telegraph's politics newsletter, Mr Anderson was asked how many of the current 120 MPs Reform would be willing to welcome. 'Most of the best ones lost their seats' He replied: 'Not many, because they'd just be coming to save their jobs. But let me tell you about the makeup of the Tory Party at the moment. 'Most of the best ones lost their seats, a lot of my good friends lost their seats in the Red Wall. You've got 120, you've got 30 wets, you've got 30 who would consider aligning with our politics. 'And the [others] haven't got a clue who they are, they just want to be MPs. So I think they're toast, mate. They don't know what they stand for.' Announcing his defection on Wednesday night, Sir Jake suggested the Tories had governed no better than Labour and accused both parties of having wrecked the country. Mr Anderson also accepted there would be 'bumps in the road' for Reform after James McMurdock announced over the weekend he had permanently quit the party. The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock said he had decided to stay on in the Commons as an independent MP following allegations surrounding his business dealings during the pandemic. Despondency about Tory prospects Reform is understood to also be considering whether to welcome Jonathan Gullis, a former Tory minister. No formal conversations between the party and Mr Gullis have taken place so far, but The Telegraph understands he is sympathetic to its positions on a number of issues. On Wednesday night, Mr Gullis told GB News he could 'understand' why Sir Jake had left the Conservatives and said he was more despondent than ever about Tory prospects. He has previously called for Mr Farage to receive a peerage and suggested last year that Reform was attempting to convince him to cross the floor. 'The trajectory is up' Pointing to Reform's success at May's local elections, in which it won control of 10 councils and two mayoralties, Mr Anderson said: 'We're only going one way, the trajectory is up. 'We're a growing party, we're a startup party, we're learning. There's bumps in the road, there's going to be casualties on the path to victory in 2029. 'And what we're doing at the moment is we have a weekly meeting with our chairman, with Nigel, with the other MPs. We're developing policy behind closed doors, and that will be released as the election gets nearer and nearer.' Mr Anderson said he had been 'mobbed' by 15 teenagers from Birmingham who were on a visit to the Houses of Parliament early this week, and said every single one had been a Reform supporter. He added: 'The young people in this country are rebelling. They've had enough, they've seen what's happening to this country and they're thinking they've had enough.' ' They love Nigel Farage, he has a huge following on TikTok, on his social media. They want something different.' Asked whether he would back a change to a proportional voting system, a commitment made in the Reform manifesto last year, Mr Anderson said he was in two minds on the issue. Speaking during a general election campaign event, Mr Farage declared he wanted to see the first past the post voting system scrapped and that there would be huge public support for such a move. PR 'a much fairer system' But Mr Anderson said: 'It is party policy. I'm mixed on this personally, I mean it's up for debate, we're a democratic party. I suppose we'll come to a decision on this. Look, I see the benefits of PR [proportional representation]. It's a much fairer system, [it would have won us] a lot more MPs. 'But you know what? We also have to think about it very, very carefully, if we had PR in place, we've got [Jeremy] Corbyn now and Zarah Sultana thinking about forming a political party with the Gaza independents probably sat behind him, joining as well. 'That would mean that old Jezza, he'd probably get 60 or 70 MPs as well. And you know what? That's a dangerous place to be, and I think personally to have 60 or 70 of them in the chamber, maybe having the balance of power in some votes, that scares me a little bit. So I think we have to be very, very careful.'
ITV News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Why ex-Tory chairman Jake Berry's defection makes Reform UK a more serious proposition
Sir Jake Berry is a serious politician. His defection to Reform UK makes them a more serious proposition. This is significant because seriousness is something Reform have struggled with. As a rapidly growing party which values forthright opinions, Reform tends to attract strong characters. The party's vetting procedures for candidates have been somewhere between inadequate and nonexistent - Nigel Farage has admitted as much. Of the five MPs elected at last year's general election only Farage, Richard Tice and Lee Anderson remain. They have added Sarah Pochin to their number, but that is still some attrition rate. Then there was the resignation and un-resignation of party chairman Zia Yusuf. It doesn't look serious. Berry is a former Tory Party Chairman who was a major influence on Boris Johnson. He has thought deeply about how a conservative party can be of benefit to, and win votes in, the north of England. He joins David Jones the former Welsh Secretary who also joined Reform this week. If former cabinet ministers are starting to join Reform then it could soon start to look like the more professional political outfit Farage has been promising. And that is a serious problem for Labour, and particularly for the Tories.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Ban some foreigners from sickness benefits, Badenoch urges
Kemi Badenoch will call for foreign nationals to be barred from claiming disability and sickness benefits, as she sets out plans for tighter curbs on a speech on Thursday, the Tory leader will describe Britain's benefits bill as a "ticking time bomb" that could "collapse the economy".It comes after the party outlined some of its own proposals to reduce spending, after Labour largely gutted its own plan for benefits cuts after a backbench to bring in remaining government cuts to sickness benefits was approved by MPs on Wednesday evening. But other proposals, including changes to the eligibility criteria for disability benefits, have effectively been put on hold. The government announced plans to shrink welfare spending in March, warning the working-age welfare bill was set to rise by nearly £30bn by 2030 and reforms to the system were required to ensure it remained wanted to make it harder to claim personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability benefit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and make health-related top-ups for universal credit less generous. But ministers significantly watered down the cuts earlier this month after a huge rebellion from Labour MPs, all but wiping out savings estimated to be worth £5bn a year by the end of the decade. Plans to freeze the higher rate of universal credit for existing health-related claimants have been reversed, whilst all changes to the Pip system have been parked pending a government review into the assessment her speech on Thursday, Badenoch will accuse Labour of being "beholden to left-wing MPs" and "turning a blind eye" to rising benefit will also seek to create a dividing line with Reform UK over the two-child benefit cap, which Nigel Farage's party has pledged to scrap, branding him "Jeremy Corbyn with a pint and a cigarette"."On welfare he shows his true colours - promising unaffordable giveaways with no plan to fix the system," she is expected to add.A Labour spokesperson said "The Conservatives had 14 years to reform welfare - instead, they left the country with a broken system that holds people back and fails to support the most vulnerable."The party also warned that the Conservative proposal could see disabled British nationals living abroad being denied support if other countries decided to take a similar approach. Tory welfare proposals The Conservatives have not backed the government's legislation to deliver the changes, arguing its proposals do not go far have set out some plans of their own to shrink welfare spending in the form of amendments to the government's plans, which were defeated on include limiting access to Pips and the health-related part of universal credit to those with "less severe" mental health conditions, and preventing claimants from receiving payments without a face-to-face also say both benefits should only be paid to British citizens, with exceptions for those covered by international agreements, such as citizens from EU countries who have acquired settled status in the the moment, foreign nationals gain access to the welfare system when they are granted indefinite leave to remain or refugee status. Applicants for Pip generally need to have lived in Britain for at least two of the last three seekers are not allowed to apply for benefits, although they have access to taxpayer-funded accommodation and separate financial shadow minister Neil O'Brien has said he has obtained figures under freedom of information laws showing universal credit payments to households containing at least one foreign national stood at £941m a month as of working out the exact scale of payments to non-UK nationals specifically is complicated, because the Department for Work and Pensions does not provide a breakdown of claimants by immigration status and the department is due to publish the first such breakdown next week, and has committed to updates every three months thereafter. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Kemi Badenoch to call for tougher restrictions on benefits to cut welfare bill
Kemi Badenoch is poised to unveil a controversial plan to restrict health benefits to only the most severely ill, as she warns of a "ticking time bomb" in the UK's welfare system. In a speech scheduled for Thursday, the Tory leader will highlight government forecasts suggesting annual spending on health and disability benefits could soar to £70 billion by 2030. Other projections indicate this figure could even reach £100 billion, while the Office for Budget Responsibility has cautioned that a failure to curb the rate of benefit uptake could incur an additional £12 billion in costs. Calling for tougher action on welfare, Ms Badenoch is expected to state: "We should be backing the makers – rewarding the people getting up every morning, working hard to build our country. Our welfare system should look after the most vulnerable in society – not those cheating the system." As well as restricting benefits to 'more serious conditions', Ms Badenoch is expected to reiterate her policy of preventing foreign nationals claiming welfare. She will say: 'It is not fair to spend £1 billion a month on benefits for foreign nationals and on handing out taxpayer-funded cars for conditions like constipation.' The £1 billion figure refers to benefits paid to households that include at least one foreign national, but may also cover payments to British citizens. The taxpayer-backed Motability scheme provides vehicles to people who receive the 'enhanced' mobility element of personal independence payment, covering those with serious mobility problems, and usually involves exchanging all the allowance and providing an additional upfront payment in exchange for a lease on a vehicle. She will also call for an end to remote assessments of benefit claimants, arguing that this had allowed people to 'game the system', and pledge to 'get people back to work' through retraining and 'early intervention'. Ms Badenoch's speech comes a week after Sir Keir Starmer U-turned on proposals to cut the benefits bill by £5 billion in the face of discontent among his backbenchers. After the U-turn, economists have warned that the Government's proposals will now deliver zero savings by 2030. In her speech, Mrs Badenoch will attack the Labour Government as being 'beholden to left-wing MPs' and 'completely unprepared for government'. And she will also take aim at Reform UK, accusing both Nigel Farage's party and Labour of 'turning a blind eye' to the impact of the rising welfare bill. Mr Farage has vowed to scrap the two-child benefit cap if Reform UK comes to power, something the Conservatives have criticised as unaffordable. Ms Badenoch will say: 'Nigel Farage pretends to be a Thatcherite Conservative but really, he's just Jeremy Corbyn with a pint and a cigarette. 'On welfare he shows his true colours – promising unaffordable giveaways with no plan to fix the system.'
